The Westmead Institute is home to more than 45 research groups concerned with a wide range of human diseases and conditions. Key to our success is the way we connect researchers, clinicians and supporters.

While medical research receives support from governments, some worthwhile projects miss out on receiving grants. Your generosity can help us bridge this gap and translate laboratory discoveries into clinical practice where they can give new hope.

The Westmead Institute is home to more than 45 research groups concerned with a wide range of human diseases and conditions. Key to our success is the way we connect researchers, clinicians and supporters.

While medical research receives support from governments, some worthwhile projects miss out on receiving grants. Your generosity can help us bridge this gap and translate laboratory discoveries into clinical practice where they can give new hope.

Our research aims to improve the health and wellbeing of people with a range of chronic problems such as diabetes, obesity, liver disease and loss of muscle strength.

We study hormones, using a range of new models from cell culture through to human clinical studies to understand the processes underlying disease and find ways of preventing and treating these increasingly common conditions.

Diseases we research

Diabetes

Obesity

Liver diseases

Loss of muscle strength function

Our research themes:

Our diabetes research focuses on the biology of beta-cells – the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin – and the islets where they live. We study islet transplantation, beta-cell survival and beta-cell function – with a particular focus on ARNT and HIF-1a.

Another theme of our research is the role of vitamin D deficiency in liver disease. We are studying how vitamin D affects progression of cirrhosis and liver fibrosis, the regeneration of the liver after injury, and survival of liver cells after liver toxins.

We are also studying adipose tissue (different types of fat tissue) and its role in obesity and the metabolic consequences that it entails.